Superconducting magnets, commonly found in MRI scanners, produce stronger, more efficient magnetic fields using smaller and lighter magnets than magnets made using conventional materials such as copper or aluminium.

On earth, superconducting materials must be cooled to very low temperatures using liquid helium to utilize their superconducting properties, however the project has already found a solution that will work in space.

‘We have decided to use a new superconducting material, discovered in 2001: magnesium diboride or MgB2,’ explained Dr Musenich. MgB2 can superconduct at 10 kelvin, or -263 degrees Celsius, which removes the need for liquid-helium cooling as this temperature is comparable with that of deep space.

Simulations of the magnetic system suggest that a 10-meter-diameter magnetic field could be produced by a system weighing less than half that of a comparable passive shield.

The SR2S superconducting shield will provide an intense magnetic field, 3,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field and will be confined around the space craft.